Why I Took My Child Off Ritalin

Goonellabah woman Alison Martin has pulled her school aged son off Ritalin, seeking alternative therapies in the belief that the drug is having an adverse impact on him.

AAP in Sydney reports parents are saying ADHD drugs have caused terrible reactions in their children: Notably heart palpitations, shortness of breath, hair loss, muscle spasms, severe abdominal pain, depression and paranoia.

Medicare figures show kids in lower socio-economic areas of New South Wales were up to 10 times more likely to be put on the drug than those in affluent areas.

Alison Martin’s son Liam, 11, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, and had been taking three 10mg tablets every school day for three years.

Ms Martin has taken her son off the drug as a trial, but Liam has already said he doesn’t want to go back on it. She is concerned about the long-term physical and psychological consequences of his reliance on the drug.

"It’s like getting your kids hooked on drugs. It’s pretty full-on. I can see why some kids sell it to their mates, and that really scares me."

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Dr Ingall admitted Ritalin was a ‘downstream solution to an upstream problem’, with the real culprit the education system. "School is for girls, not boys." he says. "Usually once my patients leave school they leave their Ritalin behind. Ask these boys to dismantle an engine and they have no trouble. Just don’t ask them to read about it!